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This chapter argues that the credibility of oil-rich Nigeria was ratified by signs of material development masquerading as its substance, purveying a “seeing-is-believing” ontology that disguised the absence of a productive base. If the oil economy was somehow dubious—with its invisible and mysterious sources of wealth fueling a nation on the move—FESTAC was designed as a stabilizing force, anchoring the signs of sudden prosperity in the bedrock of tradition and culture. The value of this culture was confirmed by the spectacular scale of the festival itself.

This chapter argues that the credibility of oil-rich Nigeria was ratified by signs of material development masquerading as its substance, purveying a “seeing-is-believing” ontology that disguised the absence of a productive base. If the oil economy was somehow dubious—with its invisible and mysterious sources of wealth fueling a nation on the move—FESTAC was designed as a stabilizing force, anchoring the signs of sudden prosperity in the bedrock of tradition and culture. The value of this culture was confirmed by the spectacular scale of the festival itself.